GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, Oct. 25th, where your fill-in and former Huddle host is asking you, Huddlers, to send me your best Halloween costume ideas for this year ( obeavers@politico.com). Brownie points if they are political. I'll be tweeting out the best spooky or swampy ideas that land in my inbox. WHEN VIRGINIA AND CHINA COLLIDE... — Remember the Senate's big push over the summer to confront a rising China? The Schumer-led effort resulted in a behemoth quarter-trillion bill to boost U.S. competitiveness with Beijing by spurring investment in technological and scientific advancements, and mapping a national-security strategy. Well that bill has languished on the Hill amid disagreements between the two chambers, especially frustrating Senate Democrats who want to see it reach Biden's desk after securing wide bipartisan support in the Senate. It comes with political benefits, they say. Not only does Biden need a legislative win, but Virginia Democrats think it would be an easy way to put some points on the board amid that state's surprisingly close gubernatorial race. It could also help the president start to blunt criticisms from the right about rising prices stemming from supply-chain bottlenecks, and allow him to boost his counter-China chops. "Boy oh boy, what an important national security matter, and also what a great time to put some points on the board," Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) said. There's some talk that the House might simply strip out the portion of the bill that increases U.S. semiconductor production, an action the House Problem Solvers Caucus endorsed last week. But critics worry about the rest of the bill's fate under that scenario. The White House has arranged several meetings with the House Science Committee to accelerate the process, according to an official familiar with the outreach. That panel is critical for the R&D parts of the broader China bill. Andrew and Gavin Bade have the update. BIG, IF TRUE: Hunter Walker with Rolling Stone talked to two people who were involved in the planning of the Jan. 6 rally that devolved into the violent Capitol assault. These individuals have made a series of serious allegations about their communications with GOP members of Congress leading up the rally, which they've passed along to the select committee investigating the attack. Both are expecting to testify publicly. Those include claims that 1) multiple House Republicans "were intimately involved in planning both Trump's efforts to overturn his election loss and the Jan. 6 events that turned violent"; 2) these organizers say they held "dozens" of planning briefings ahead of Jan. 6; 3) one of the GOP members, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), allegedly "dangled the possibility of a 'blanket pardon' in an unrelated ongoing investigation" to encourage the organizers to plan the protests; 4) the organizers raised concerns to former chief of Staff Mark Meadows that Ali Alexander's protest at the Capitol could lead to violence ahead of the event. And more... The panel will have the job of vetting through these claims. Already, some Democrats are calling for their expulsion if the allegations prove true. Related: Jan. 6 panel seeking information from Facebook and following the money, chair says, by our Jordan Wolman | "Facebook whistleblower documents offer new revelations about Jan. 6 response," by Chris Looft and Layla Ferris UNDERCOOKED RUMOR — It all started off with a joke from House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), who was talking about the rise of inflation in front of a bunch of members. When he saw Rep. Don Bacon, he asked: "How much is bacon up?" The Nebraska Republican replied: "19 percent." Scalise responded: "Wow, bacon is up 19 percent!" Well...It didn't take long for word to travel and before Bacon knew it, Republicans were chattering a day later about how the frontliner was up 19 percent in polling. At one point, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) went up to Bacon and congratulated him in front of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for his surge in the polls, prompting the GOP leader to express how impressed he was with Bacon's supposed numbers, the Nebraska lawmaker said. Well, Bacon had to pour water on this crackling rumor and fix the record: The poll talk was all cooked up. Campaign Related: "Senate GOP rallies to Herschel Walker," by our Alex Isenstadt. KILLING THEM SOFTLY WITH HIS WORDS: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is nicely trying to tell Trump to zip it about his 2020 election fraud claims because it could have major consequences for Republicans next election cycle if the GOP voter turnout is depressed, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday that "the best thing that President Trump could do to help us win majorities in 2022 is talk about the future" rather than talk about the past. UNHEARD OF: Your Huddle host heard a funny story about the NRSC fundraiser held earlier this month at the fancy Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Professional golfer Jack Nicklaus was about to go on stage to speak to the crowd when the battery in his hearing aid died. A staffer helping with the event figured there must be senators in the crowd who also use assisted hearing devices, but when they asked around none of them had the right battery type. The staffer then asked attendee Newt Gingrich if he had an extra. Instead, the former speaker took out the battery of his hearing aid to give to Nicklaus, adding: "Tell him he can keep it." COVID IN THE CAPITOL: In case you missed it, Office of the Attending Physician sent a letter out on Friday stating that it is now prepared to provide the coronavirus booster vaccination to a wider umbrella, including: "Individuals between 18 and 64 years who previously received the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine and whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to the virus puts them at high risk of serious complications from the disease caused by the virus." (Speaking of, there was another breakthrough case on Friday…) | 
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